If it were possible to increase your response rate when sending emails, leveraging InMail, or leaving voice-mail messages to 70 — 80%, would that be good?
Over the last few years, B2B companies have ramped up their investment in Inside Sales. With the evolution of digital sales and social media, Business Development Reps (BDRs), Customer Success Managers (CSMs), and Customer Support Executives (CSEs) are playing a more critical role in the overall strategy for generating new revenue opportunities and growing existing accounts.
The inside sales function is much more than just cold-calling, however. While there are benefits to meeting customers face-to-face, Inside Sales Reps can touch many more prospects and customers when reaching out via the telephone or by leveraging the Internet.
There’s no point debating who plays a more significant role within the organization. Everyone on the sales team is striving to achieve the same objectives—increasing sales effectiveness to maximize their Return on Invested Selling Efforts (ROISE).
Digital Transformation
Using technology to streamline the sales process is hardly a new idea. The telephone has been in play for decades, followed by fax machines and pagers. As we evolve further into the digital era, access to social media, Internet search engines, and texting still doesn’t guarantee sellers access to key decision-makers in important target accounts.
The upside of digital selling is pretty clear. Sales teams can touch more customers, conserve significant chunks of time, and greatly reduce travel. But there’s risk in relying too heavily on technology, as your competitors all have access to the Internet, just like you.
Companies must recognize that this digital revolution has created a host of unintended consequences, starting with the fact that prospects and customers are now being bombarded with offers and solicitations—to the point where many customers don’t even bother to answer their phones anymore, making them that much more difficult to reach.
Don’t blame the customer. How many email solicitations have you deleted from your cell phone in the last 30 days without reading past the first sentence? That’s because using the same outdated sales tactics as everyone else is the quickest way to commoditize your value proposition.
Email can still be a very effective sales tool, as can social media platforms, networking sites such as Linked In, and yes, even voice-mail—but only if customers feel compelled to respond.
Is Selling Really a “Numbers Game?”
Yes, but two numbers are critical to your success, not just one.
Salespeople have been told…If you want more business, you need to make more calls. That may have been good advice in the old days when selling revolved around ‘pounding the pavement’ all day. Working hard is certainly important, but so is adopting a more effective outreach strategy.
The alternative to making more calls…is making more effective sales calls!
One of the most impactful concepts in Question Based Selling is leveraging curiosity to secure mindshare from key decision-makers in important target accounts. This concept is particularly valuable for Inside Sales teams who are charged with generating new business.
Sellers are always curious to learn about customers. That’s why we ask questions. The secret to being successful in today’s selling environment, however, is causing prospects and customers to become curious about you.
Sales Leaders can Gauge their Digital Sales Trajectory by asking:
- What’s your average response rate when leaving voice-mail messages or sending emails?
- What are you doing to leverage curiosity within important prospect accounts?
- What’s your strategy for causing new prospects to “want to” share information with a salesperson they don’t yet know or trust?
- What latent needs (or business issues) are you prepared to raise in future sales conversations that the customer might not think to bring up on their own?
- How is your approach different from the other 50 salespeople who are calling the same list of target accounts?
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Customization of Content
Every QBS training is customized for the intended audience. Specific “what if” scenarios are encouraged and the relevance of the examples used during the training will be proportionate to the quality and quantity of the pre-work provided by the client in advance.
Course Objectives for Inside Sales
Our mission is not just teaching people how to sell. Rather, our mission is teaching sales teams how to sell into the real-world headwinds of increased competition, customer skepticism, and dealing with buyers who already have preconceived notions about how much (or little) value you bring to the table.
QBS Training courses for Inside Sales and Digital Sales teams are delivered in a highly interactive, instructor-led format designed to maximize the learning experience, and give salespeople an ‘unfair’ competitive advantage in their respective markets.
Experiential learning enables participants to gain a clear understanding of specific strategies and techniques and develop the comfort level required to accomplish the following:
- Increase your “hit rate” when calling new prospects.
- Make lead generation a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Broaden the scope of existing opportunities.
- Establish more credibility early in the sale.
- Motivate many different types of buyers.
- Escalate the prospect’s sense of urgency.
- Sidestep the root cause of buyer resistance.
- Identify key decision-makers and influencers.
- Prevent objections in addition to handling them.
- Deliver more punch in your product presentations.
- Qualify and accurately forecast potential opportunities.
- Obtain commitments necessary to advance the sales process!
Our hands-on approach to teaching/learning specific techniques and strategies will make an immediate positive impact on the individual salesperson, the sales team, and the organization as a whole.
Who Should Attend?
Getting everyone on the same page is the key to achieving consistent results!
There’s a reason why top salespeople are ‘killing it’ while others are struggling to keep their heads above water. It’s because many of the tactics and approaches that sellers have been taught over the 30+ last years no longer make sense in a digital selling environment.
Don’t blame the customer. To achieve results, Digital Sales Teams must be empowered with next-generation strategies and techniques that will differentiate them from the rest of the ‘noise’ in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace.
Every successful business knows that differentiating the company and your proposed solutions is a team sport. Thus, positioning skills are just as valuable for Inside Sales Teams as they are for marketing, sales support, customer service professionals, and salespeople in the field.
Facilities Requirements & Set-up
Please note that all QBS events are books on a first come first served basis, and the client agrees to secure and provide the following checklist items:
- Presentation Room (Classroom Style Seating)
- In Focus Projector (for PowerPoint)
- Wireless Remote Lapel Microphone
- Extra Battery for Wireless
- Refreshments/Lunch for Attendees
- (2) Flip Charts with Fresh Markers
- Drafting Chair or Bar Stool
Unless otherwise specified in advance, all of the items listed must be provided and in good working order for the QBS event to commence. QBS presenters will bring their own laptop computers and provide all appropriate training materials.
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